Best Friends Live Forever
by A. B. Buckley
Summary: Greg had buried that memory away, never to touch it again. But something happens that causes Greg to question what really happened that terrible night. Slash, set sometime in season 5. Rating may go up, cossed with "Without A Trace", GS/NS, GS/OC.
1. Chapter 1

October 28, 1996

"Worst movie ever."

"How can you say that? It's a classic!"

"Then the majority of today's population are idiots."

A brown haired boy shook his head, glancing at his friend. "_Halloween_ is one of the best movies ever made."

A young woman rolled her eyes, "C'mon, Greg, it is physically impossible for a man to get shot SIX TIMES and still live!"

"Exactly!" Greg said, exasperated. "He's not human! He's an evil entity!"

"Whatever," the woman sighed, looking at her watch. "Shit! It's 1am, I gotta go." She got up off the couch, grabbing her purse and jacket.

"Kat, why don't you stay here for the night? I'll sleep on the couch, and you can take my bed." Greg followed her to the door.

"And leave my poor Cleo to starve? Not happening." Kat said, shrugging on her jacket.

"Your cat won't die overnight," Greg said, leaning against the door.

Kat sighed, "Maybe another time. I'll call you when I can tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok," Greg relented, opening the door and giving Kat a quick hug. "Be safe, Kit-Kat. And don't talk to strangers."

Kat laughed, "I'll be fine, Skittles. Later!"

Greg watched her walk down the hallway before closing the door. He strolled over to the window, leaning against it. He watched as Kat walked out of the building, pausing to look up and wave to him. He waved back, and continued to watch at she walked down the street and out of sight.

Present Day

"Man, you reek!" Nick said, plugging his nose.

"Well, Stokes, that's usually the end result of dumpster diving." Greg scoffed, pushing past his friend to get to the showers. "I don't even want to know what gooey substance seeped into my shoes."

Nick laughed, checking to see if they were alone in the locker room. "Need any help cleaning up?" He asked in a low voice, looking at Greg with a predatory gaze.

Greg chuckled, "I thought we agreed to not do anything to each other, after the last incident."

"Its not my fault your irresistible, even after dumpster diving." This time, Greg let out a laugh.

"Didn't you just comment on how smelly I am?" Nick gave his 100-watt smile, sauntering over to his boyfriend.

"Someone once said that a real man wouldn't mind."

"And are you a real man, Stokes?"

"Absolutely," Nick whispered, leaning in to capture Greg's lips. Both moaned at the contact, and Nick pulled away slightly. "That offer to help out is still on the table."

Greg smiled, "Maybe another time, babe. I gotta get cleaned up and check on some evidence I gave to Hodges."

"But you're working a double!" Nick whined. "And tomorrow you'll be leaving work right when I get back on! I haven't touched you in days."

Greg raised an eyebrow, "It's been less than 48 hours since you touched me, Nicky. That's just one day."

"Fine, be all technical," Nick rolled his eyes. "Guess I'll see ya when I see ya?"

"Yeah. Go home and get some rest, I'll call you on my next break." Greg softly kissed his boyfriend on the lips. "Love you."

"Love you too," Nick smiled, grabbing his bag and leaving the locker room. As soon as the door closed, Greg let out a groan, looking down at the obvious bulge in his pants.

"Damn you, Nicky," he said half-heartedly, before turning back to the direction of the showers.

Hair still damp from his shower, Greg let himself into the A/V lab where Archie and Warrick were going over some security footage. "So, whatcha got?" he asked, standing behind the two.

"Not much," Archie said, not turning around. "The picture's kinda grainy, and almost everyone has their face down, except this person. I'm gonna try to zoom in." He pressed a few buttons, and the person's blurry face was enlarged. "Now to clean it up," he muttered, and the picture became a little more clear.

Greg's heart froze as he stared at the screen. "Impossible," he whispered, his eyes going wide. Warrick turned in his chair, his face contorted with confusion as he looked at his friend.

"What's up, Sanders? Do you know-" he started, but Greg was out the door before he could finish his question. As soon as he was in the hallway, Greg pulled out his phone and dialed a number he should have forgotten a long time ago. After a few rings, the person on the other line picked up.

"Hi, it's Greg. Greg Sanders." He paused, "We have a problem."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so, I totally forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter, so I hereby state that I do not own CSI nor the characters, and if I did, Nick and Greg would be canon, Grissom and Sara would have never left (but I am glad that Sara is back for the current season!) Warrick wouldn't of died and would be married to Catherine. But I CAN proudly claim Kat Becker as work of my own imagination. And I also claim the plot as my own, so no stealing or I will tattle!

For those of you actually following this story, I want to thank you for your great reviews, I live off them, so the more the merrier. I also want to apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but life pretty much got in the way, as did writers block, so I made it long for y'all. This is set sometime in season 5, after Greg becomes a CSI, but before "Grave Danger". And this is slash, but I don't think I'm gonna go all dirty on y'all, still trying to decide. And it's not gonna be that long of a story, I'd say about 5 chapters tops, but I might have to go a little more. We'll just have to see.

* * *

Greg paced back and forth in front of Grissom's office, glancing to see his supervisor going over paperwork. He wasn't sure how to tell his boss the recent development of the case. Finally, Grissom looked up, an annoyed expression on his face, and waved the young CSI in. Greg paused, taking a deep breath, and entered the office, closing the door behind him. He sat down in a chair, shifting uncomfortably under Grissom's gaze.

"You've been pacing back and forth in front of my office for five minutes, Greg. What is it?"

"I've been able to identify one of the suspects in the robbery."

"Then what's the problem? Is it a relative of Demetrius James?"

"No, it's..." Greg's voice faltered, wishing he didn't have to say it. "It's an old friend."

He paused, looking at his supervisor before continuing. "It's a long story, but I'll be quick about it. In 1995, my best friend, Kat Becker, went missing, disappeared while walking home from my apartment. There was no ransom note, no call, nothing. Of course, I became the prime suspect, since I was the last to see her, but they were able to quickly cut me out of the line of suspects, which were very few. It took them months, but they finally tracked down her kidnappers, and when they got to the house, they arrested the two kidnappers. Kat wasn't there, and they questioned the suspects for hours, but they wouldn't say anything. The trail ran cold there, and the suspects were convicted of kidnapping. They're still in jail. No one has heard a whisper about Kat, and they all presumed she was dead. But I've found her. Completely by accident, but I've found her."

Greg then tossed two pictures onto Grissom's desk. One was a picture of a pretty brunette sitting in front of a tree, her eyes as green as the grass behind her, smiling. The other, a black and white still of a girl with a scowl, her eyes dark and foreboding. It was the same girl.

"This is your friend?" Grissom asked, and Greg nodded.

"There is no way she's there by her own will. They forced her, I know it."

"Greg, I'm sorry, but she doesn't look like she's being forced to do anything."

"She minored in Theatre!" Greg's voiced raised a little, which surprised the older man. "She's faking! I know her, and she's not the type to just take another's life!"

"No, Greg, you used to know her, but people change. Just from looking at this photo, I can tell that she has no remorse for what she is doing. And because of what you've expressed to me, you leave me no choice. I have to pull you off the case."

Greg sighed, "That's alright, Gris, I was gonna request it anyway. I know that I am too emotionally involved, and I know that at some point I'll lose control and cross over the line. Instead, I was wondering if I might have the night off."

"Take the next two nights off. Go home, relax, take your mind off all this."

Greg nodded, "Also, I, uh, took it upon myself to call New York." Grissom raised his eyebrows at this, and opened his mouth to speak when Greg stopped him. "I know, I should have come to you first, but I know people there, I had promised them years ago I'd call if anything came up. They're on there way, should be here in a couple of hours." With that, Greg got up and turned to leave, pausing at the door, "Gris, will you keep me updated? Please?"

The older CSI observed the younger for a moment, before nodding his head. "Yes, I will, if it is important." Greg nodded in understanding before leaving, closing the door behind him.

* * *

The team piled into the break room, having gotten a page from their boss that there was a mandatory meeting. They had all just settled down when Grissom walked in.

"Alright, everyone, listen up. Catherine, Sara, and Nick, forget about your cases, they're being given to day shift. It has been brought to my attention that Warrick and Greg's case is tied in with a missing persons case in 1995 in New York. Detectives who are familiar with the case are on their way."

"Um, Gris, where's Greg?" Nick asked.

"I sent him home. He knows the missing girl, and asked to be removed from the case." Grissom then proceeded to tell the team exactly what Greg had told him about the victim. "Alright, so, now that everyone is caught up on the situation, Rick, I want you and Sara to go over the evidence, we need something to tell us where she is, and look through the video again and try to determine if she was forced to do anything during that heist; Nick, you do a background check on Katrina Becker, get everything on her; Cath, you're coming with me back to the crime scene, try to see if anything was overlooked."

And with that, Grissom walked out of the break room, Catherine right on his heals. Warrick and Sara soon followed, but Nick stayed rooted to his seat. If Greg had to be removed from the case because it was too personal, then he might stumble upon something that his boyfriend didn't want him to know about. He felt kind of guilting doing it, so he picked up his cell and dialed his lover's number.

* * *

Greg sat on the couch, the only light coming from a lamp on the table next to said couch. He was bent over, his elbows resting on his knees, staring at the black T.V., his mind a million miles away. He just couldn't believe that she was alive, after all these years. He wondered what she was doing with that group, a gun in hand, her face hollow. He was snapped out of his daze by his phone, and snatched it up without looking at the caller I.D.

"Sanders."

"Hey, baby." Greg sighed, leaning back into the cushions.

"Hey," he said wearily, though he wasn't tired at all.

"Grissom told us about your friend. How are you holdin' up?" Greg bit back a sarcastic remark due to the concern he heard in his boyfriend's voice.

"I'm alright."

"Liar."

Greg almost laughed, wondering how Nick could tell when he wasn't being honest. "Ok, fine, I'm not doing well. It's been eight years since she disappeared, everyone thought she was dead, including me. I gave up on her, Nick, I let her down, and now look where she is. She's running around Vegas with a bunch of criminals, and it's all my fault cause I gave up."

"Listen to be, baby, it is not your fault. You had no idea she was alive, and there was no way for you to find her if she was. You couldn't have given up if there was nothing to follow. Okay?"

Greg sighed, and nodded slowly, "Okay."

"Okay," there was a pause, before Nick continued. "Listen, Gris told me to do a background check on her, and I just wanted to let you know so I wouldn't feel guilty if I come across something that involves you."

"Don't feel guilty, you're just doing your job. I'm positive you'll come across something that has to do with me, and any questions you have, ask me. As of right now, my life is an open book, though if I had a choice, I'd shut it right back up."

"Okay. I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I love you too. I'll see you when you get home?"

"I don't know when that will be, but I'll call you when I'm leaving the lab."

"Alright, talk to you later Nicky."

"Later, G."

Greg disconnected the call, then put the phone back where it was. He settled back into the position he was in before the call, and stayed there for about an hour before moving into the bedroom.

* * *

OK, so, please review! And don't be afraid to be critical, I welcome criticism, how else am I supposed to be a better writer, right?


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